A few days ago I was listening to “Agar Tum Saath Ho” from the excellent movie “Tamashaa” and noticed for the first time (yeah after nearly 2-3 years of regularly listening to that song coz it is one of my favorites!) that Arijith has someone else singing along with him in the background. I had previously seen A.R. Rahman employ this in other favorites of mine like “Piya Haji Ali” (from the otherwise unremarkable “Fiza”) and also “Noon-Un-Ala-Noor” (from the artsy-but-worth-a-watch “Meenaxi”). But in both these cases I knew you the background singer was – it was obvious from the artists section of the song. But with “Agar Tum Saath Ho” I never noticed this other singer until a few days ago when I kind of slept in my bus ride home listening to this song on loop, and I think my mind just relaxed and stopped thinking other stuff … it just soaked in the song, was in the moment so to say, and I heard the other singer as obvious as anything else.
Turns out this other singer was Arijith himself, but in a different pitch (thanks Quora) and this technique is called vocal harmonizing. Nice, I didn’t know of this.
While typing this post I was post I was listening to “Aanandhame” from the movie “Aravindante Athithikal” (which I previously mentioned, I love its songs) and noticed that it too employs something similar. While Anne Amie is the primary voice, you can also hear Vineeth Sreenivasan lightly in the background singing along with her. Adds a lot of the feel of the song.
Speaking of “Aravindante Athithikal”, a lovely first half a very draggy second half. Wish the movie had just stuck on with the theme of first half or concluded there if it had nothing more to say. The second half would even have been fine if it didn’t drag so much towards the end about finding the mother!
Once in a while you come across an album where pretty much every song is amazing. “Aravindante Athidhikal” is one such. The first time I heard it I wasn’t impressed. But the next day I found myself humming some of the tunes and went back and listened to the songs again … and been listening to them again and again since then! :) It’s like falling in love with A.R. Rahman songs in the past. I’d never like them on the first listen, but would find myself humming the tune later and go back and listen and love it. (Doesn’t happen that way with A.R. Rahman songs nowadays).
The music is by Shaan Rahman. He is a dependable music director. Always delivers. Most of his soundtracks have at least one or two tracks that are amazing.
Special mention: “Kanne Thaai Malare” by Vineeth Sreenivasan. It’s just him accompanied by Shaan Rahman on keyboard. You won’t forget this song/ tune once you hear it! :)
“Blackmail”, starring Irrfan Khan an directed by Abhinay Deo, tries to be a dark comedy. Something like “Fargo” or most Coen brothers movies. But while the latter movies are coherent in terms of the tone or branding, I found “Blackmail” to be confusing.
At times it does the dark comedy well. But also feels like its trying to be cool and shocking and many other things as well. It’s difficult to put into words what I am trying to say here except that I found the message confusing. The movie started off trying to go with a shock/ comedy factor by showing our hero take photos of his colleague’s wives from their office desks to the bathroom so he can masturbate to them. Then it moved on to his unhappy marriage, and him trying to nice to her one day out of the blue by coming home early and discovering she has an affair. At this point it tries to be something else with the loud background music etc. Then it becomes dark with him trying to blackmail his wife’s lover and the subsequent events that happen as a result of that. But while a movie or TV show like “Fargo” sticks to that theme and shows how things can go wrong or the things people can do, that message doesn’t come across clearly in “Blackmail”. I think the writers and director wanted to put across that message but it got muddled with a few other things.
The music and background score were great – Amit Tridevi is unique and amazing as usual! – and yes while they matched the scenes and highlighted the feelings and emotions, I felt they too played a part in detracting from the main theme of “Blackmail”. Not the composer’s fault – I imagine that is what he was asked to provide (the mood I mean) and so he delivered.
Overall, a good movie, worth a watch – I’d give it a 3.5 or 4 /5, but it could easily have been a 5/5 if the mood or message part was sorted. I wish it had been a 5/5 – I had great hopes for it when I realized that after finding his wife having an affair our hero was going to blackmail the lover. So much potential, so many things that can go wrong (and they did) … amazing!
Created by author Harlan Cobden (whose books I haven’t read) and starring Michael C Hall of Dexter fame (ooh loved that!). Not a murder mystery, rather a “girl runs away from home, now why did she do that mystery” meets “father searching for his presumed missing daughter and won’t stop at anything until he finds her thriller”. It was fine. Not amazing or anything but not bad either. The finale was a bit rushed and didn’t explain some of the plot points (esp. who ransacked the Chahal family house) and the explain was a bit stretched as to the sequence of events that led to the girl running away – but well, worth a watch. Beware of all the red herrings though! Too many of them, and it’s irritating.
Ready Player One
Based on the book (which I didn’t enjoy). Good movie. Again, nothing too great (coz I am not into gaming I guess) but a fun watch and one of the better movies I have seen recently. Keeps you hooked and all the special effects and stuff is amazing.
Ordeal by Innocence
Based on the Agatha Christie book (which I haven’t read, but will do now) and starring Bil Nighy, Matthew Goode etc. – a nice old fashioned murder mystery, set in an England of old. I am curious how the book is coz this seems to be a very complicated book and it’s commendable that it got adapted for the screen, so I wonder how the original material was. This was the last show I saw this weekend and it was a pleasure.
Feels funny writing this but I saw “Tiger Zinda Hai” and actually enjoyed it! I put it on thinking I’d find it silly but would watch it anyways, and while I did find the whole “super agent” thing silly I enjoyed the movie nevertheless. I guess it’s of the way it was taken. I dunno, the attention to detail I guess, or all the money spent. You (or I, rather) could see the director has taken his time crafting the movie and not spared much expenses. (And later I read in Wikipedia that this is one of most expensive Hindi movies produced).
I loved this Tera Noor song by Jyoti Nooran btw. Amazing fight sequence backed by a superb song.
I loved the background music too. I think that’s one more thing that caught my attention from the start. It wasn’t over-done but perfect for the situations and mood.
Update: Forgot a shout out to the amazing villain of Tiger Zinda Hai – Sajjad Delafrooz.
(This is something two days ago but didn’t get a chance to complete. Saw it now in my drafts and thought I’d post it as is).
I am irritated with the large number of “Black Panther” praising articles along with the not so large number of articles finding faults with it. Yes “Black Panther” was a great movie. I watched it last week, enjoyed it, and am glad I got to see it. But jeez the amount of media push it on your face articles about how “Black Panther” is this and that is just irritating. I think what’s triggered this current outburst in me is some article where they said Killmonger is the best villain since Heath Ledger as the Joker. Come on, seriously!? Yes Killmonger was good but Heath Ledger as the Joker was something else. You can’t put the two of them in the same sentence.
Killmonger was a good villain. But I don’t see the whole thing of him or the movie being so great coz it’s about Africans and black people etc. I mean if you are pro Africans and black people, then you are. You don’t need a movie to make you suddenly realize it. I enjoyed the movie like I said, and I imagine if you are African it does instill pride in you. But somehow I don’t see how that translates to the insane amount of praise being showered. It’s like everyone just wants to get on the “Black Panther” praise bandwagon and is coming up with something or the other!
And like some sensible article (the link to which I don’t have) pointed out Killmonger was not much about uplifting or equalizing the field for black people all over the world than he was about killing all white people. He just wanted the Vibranium to kill everyone else (but yeah I guess that makes him a good villian coz he managed to brainwash everyone else into thinking he actually wanted to do something else :o)).
Just finished watching “Godless”. I took my time with this show coz even though I liked it I don’t think this is something I could binge watch. Funny though, that’s something I had wondered to myself – how come I like this show but don’t feel like binge watching it; does it mean I don’t really love this show thaat much? – until I came across a comment from the show’s creator and director Scott Frank on how he too feels this is not a show one can binge watch. It’s a slow burn, best enjoyed over a long time. (I think he said so on the NPR Fresh Air podcast).
A lovely poem from the show finale:
‘Tis a fearful thing
to love what death can touch.
A fearful thing
to love, to hope, to dream, to be –
to be,
And oh, to lose.
A thing for fools, this,
And a holy thing,
a holy thing
to love.
For your life has lived in me,
your laugh once lifted me,
your word was gift to me.
To remember this brings painful joy.
‘Tis a human thing, love,
a holy thing, to love
what death has touched.
– Yehuda HaLevi
That poem’s something.
It’s funny how when I read a written poem it doesn’t hit me as much as it does when I see it on a scene or someone recites it. I guess when I read a poem I just read it without really feeling it.
I binge watched “Absentia” today and it was amazing. I came across it by chance on Prime Video and since it has Stana Katvic (“Kate” from the “Castle” TV show) I decided to give it a try. And before I know I was hooked onto it. That’s how the shows that really get to me are – they just hook me up and I naturally binge watch it (e.g. “DareDevil”, “The Punisher”, “Luke Cage”, “Fargo”). There are other shows that I might watch to completion but I wouldn’t mind taking breaks in between (e.g. “Godless” which I am watching off and on nowadays).
Saw “Wakefield” (movie) just now. Loved it. Not at all what I had expected from the synopsis. That sounded like a creepy/ stalker sort of movie, but the actual movie was amazing. Two nice quotes from it.
This is from a point in the movie where the main character (Howard) realizes how he has escaped from a prison of his own making (his past behavior and insecurities):
If anything, I’ve come into my senses fully.
My god, I can see it so clearly.
I’ve constructed the whole thing.
The jealousy …
… the resentment …
…the selfish urgency.
Howard is victim.
Howard is persecutor.
Howard has mastered the world.
That was my prison. That’s what I’ve escaped.
Leaving me where now?
An outcast of cosmos.
And this is just a line he says sometime as he is watching his wife.
Think it’s been a while since I posted any TV watching updates. :)
Broadchurch – Season 3
An amazing season and a wonderful end to a great show. Everything about this season was great. The plot, the characters, the music, just everything … you will be missed!
Medici: Masters of Florence
Happened to see this on Netflix and checked it out. Nothing great, but worth a watch if you have nothing else to do. The actor who played the main chap (Cosimo) had a dead look about himself. Not sure if that’s intentional. The music is great, including the opening title sequence (which is there on Apple Music). The stories were enlightening in that I wasn’t aware of how much interaction there was between the Church and banks. The show started slowly but became better as it progressed. I remember binge watching the last few episodes coz I was curious what would happen.
Peaky Blinders
On the last episode of Season 1 currently. A good show so far – enjoying it. Not too fast but not too slow either. Good characters, great set/ lighting/ camera work. Good music. I began watching it coz it’s created by Steven Knight, who directed “Locke” which was an amazing movie. Cillian Murphy & Sam Neill are great. Looking forward to Tom Hardy in the next season.
Baahubali
Wanted to put this somewhere and didn’t seem to be worth a blog post of its own. I re-watched “Baahubali: The Beginning” a few days ago – mainly to refresh myself and also for the benefit of my daughter who hadn’t seen it. Then saw “Baahubali: The Conclusion” yesterday. Both movies are filled with typical South Indian heroism where the hero can do just about anything and everyone else just watches in awe; and all the women are mesmerized by the hero, with the heroine usually being a strong/ arrogant character until she meets the hero after which he manages to “break” her (kind of like how you’d break a bull) and then she too is all smitten by him. The latter had an overdose of heroism, which frankly I couldn’t bear, but has a lot more special effects and some amazing scenes. Definitely watch it for these. Whatever I feel about the heroism, the director S.S. Rajamouli is a genius for envisioning this sort of stuff.
I guess I hate these heroism kind of movies coz I grew up watching these in Hindi and Tamil movies which were filled with these, and to my child mind that seemed to be how the world is – where if you are a good person you are a hero and have special powers and can do good and move mountains, and everyone looks up to you – but as I grew up and reality hit, I realized that the world isn’t like this. So my mind sort of revolts at this misinformation. I have nothing against super hero movies coz these usually have an origin story or something that explains why the heroes are “super”; I am only against movies where regular heroes are just able to do super things for no reason except that they are a hero and this is a movie. That gets to me. I know movies are unreal and movies such as Baahubali are fantasy – but when it becomes too fantastical my mind is unable to digest it and I lose interest in the movie.
Saw the mallu movie “Rakshadhikari Baiju Oppu” today. It was a delightful watch. Slightly long and the ending was kind of sad; but I loved it. It’s the sort of movie that doesn’t really have any story. It’s like the director/ story writers just captured a slice of life in a village and its characters (centered around a chap called Baiju, played by Biju Menon). The movie reminded me of Adam Sandler’s “Grown Ups”. They are not the same but very similar. Both movies, to me, have a similar feel – as if someone dipped into the water of and bottled a bit of it for us to see and enjoy.
“Rakshadhikari” touches on many things. Friendship, sports, studies, life, love, failed love, new gen, old gen, happiness, sadness … and Baiju is sort of the central character in all of this. He is not the hero or main person or anything like that. He’s not a Rajnikanth :) just someone who is there and whom everyone looks up to, makes fun of, can depend upon … As one of his friends said before the intermission he is a lucky man who’s happy. People run around trying to find happiness – Baiju just is happy. It’s not like he is doing anything to gain respect or be happy – he just does what he likes and is.
The movie isn’t preachy. Nor tries to take a side in old vs new or nature vs technology etc. It makes fun of FB and relationships over FB but at the same time highlights the benefits of social apps like WhatsApp that let two old friends keep in touch. Even the hospital that takes over the playground in the end isn’t portrayed in a negative light. Hospitals are useful and that is subtly mentioned in a scene. And the only message the movie ends with in the end is that all this progress and running towards wealth and career and ambition etc is good but we must not forget playgrounds and chilling out.. simple. The movie doesn’t even end on a high note like a typical “movie” might do – with some forced happy ending. Life isn’t always happy; it’s more sadness than happiness, one might say, but it moves on and you take it in that (sportsman) spirit and go along with it… and that’s how the movie too ends.
The latest xXx movie is a throwback to olden times. And while I usually enjoy such movies (e.g. The Expendables, and most Schwarzenegger movies) I found this one a bit over the top. I get it – Xander Cage is cool, is daring, loves it when things get messy (turbulent) – but in the whole movie it is sort of like he keeps jumping into trouble (sometimes for no particular reason either but just coz it’s cool) and nothing happens to him. It’s like he’s invincible. I think I would have enjoyed the movie as a child and had more fun with the coolness; but as an adult I found myself constantly thinking “this is so unbelievable”. Most action movies are unbelievable, yes, but the trick is to not take it over the top so the viewer too realizes it’s a bit too much.
That’s my 2fils on xXx 3 anyways. And that said I’ll definitely watch the sequel when it comes out (am sure one will). I liked the main Chinese guy (sorry too lazy to Google his name) – he was fun. And I also loved the green hair gun lady (Rose or something). She had attitude and was fun. :)
I want to wrote opinions of stuff I watch, read, or listen. But I am not good at writing verbosely on such stuff – describing, showering praises or finding faults – so I usually refrain. Nevertheless I do want to record my opinions and thoughts somewhere, and if not on this of then where?
Part reason I don’t want to write much is that I know it’s an act of creativity, thinking up and executing and creating something. A TV show, Movie, or a book or anything ‘art’. And however much I might dislike it that’s just my personal opinion and I have no right to blurt it out in public. I can say in private to anyone as it’s a one to one, but having a blog or some social media gives me no right to say bad about something I personally don’t like. (And we’ll if it’s something I enjoy, then the other part of my reason wherein I suck at expressing my praise amd describing why kicks in and so I can’t write good either!)
Anyhow. On that note. I saw Netflix’s Iron Fist this weekend. I had seen up to episode 7 last month on a binge weekend, got bored and left it, but continued today as my daughter (who too binge watched previously) wanted to finish it.
The second half was better than the first. More fighting. Still a lot of talking, confusion, and personal journey. Reminding me of watching “Batman vs Superman” and thinking how I’d hate to be Superman – such a tortured hero! This was similar. Chap’s got an Iron Fist, not really sure what to do with it except destroy the Hand, filled with guilt and anger and innocence and lied to by nearly everyone around him. If it were me, I would be “no thank you, please keep the iron fist and spare me all the torture!”
I guess my point is that it felt more of a drama than a superhero. If it were a drama genre show and I had signed up to watch it expecting that, I wouldn’t have minded. But I was looking for hero worship and some kick assing here and a plot that’s more “yeah I am the Iron Fist let’s go kick some a$$” than this confusion and lying and family drama. I shouldn’t be surprised I know. That’s how super hero movies are nowadays and especially the Marvel Netflix collaborations.
On an unrelated note I am typing this from my Android phone (I never do that usually) and God! it’s such a torture. I hate the keyboard on Android. Keep making mistakes and most of the time the auto correct suggestions are not what I wanted.
Oh and I almost forgot. Iron Fist has a good score by Trevor Morris. Strangely they don’t mention this in the opening credits but I found the album on Apple Music. Good stuff.
After a long time I spent the past two days (today & yesterday) doing nothing but binge watch. Family gone over to India for a few days, I am all to myself. Didn’t do any NSX or Citrix or study – simply plonked my feet up on the coach, hogged food, and watched TV.
Legion
First up was Legion, which I had high expectations from coz it’s by Noah Hawley (of Fargo TV series fame). It was good but I wasn’t too impressed mainly coz I had high hopes I guess. Think I expected something like Fargo, while this was different. It’s visually stunning – the way the scenes are taken, the music, the performances – but wasn’t entirely my cup of tea. I know it’s a “me” thing so please don’t take this as a review/ comment on the show itself. I can’t even imagine what sort of a creative mind someone must have to imagine and execute the stuff on that show. It’s simply mind blowing!
I didn’t realize the lead character Dan Stevens was the same whose voice I knew from audiobooks. I had listened to him in the Agatha Christie audiobook “And Then There Were None”, loved his voice in that and searched for more audiobooks, found he’s also done Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” (downloaded, not listened to yet) and the first James Bond book “Casino Royale” in the celebrity recordings (loved that performance!). Only when Dan Stevens began talking with the British accent did I feel that hmm this sounds familiar and realize that I had heard his voice in Audible.
Anyways. Nice show. Very well taken. Wasn’t entirely my cup of tea. (Like for instance, Stranger Things or The OA – which are similar of a similar mood and I loved and associated with a lot more).
11.22.63
Honestly, I thought this must be some horror show considering it’s Stephen King. Didn’t realize it was about time traveling and preventing the JFK assaination. It was wonderful! I loved this show. And James Franco was awesome.
Interesting aside on James Franco – I am nowadays listening to his performance of “Slaughter House 5” by Kurt Vonnegut. He’s great in that. It’s a great book and James Franco has done an amazing job of it. Interesting how that book also has time traveling and talk of how everything just is and we are all in amber and questions of cause & effect & why are just human limitations etc. And then I see 11.22.63 which touches on similar stuff, especially with the pash pushing back etc.
Also, the 60s set and simpler culture was a pleasure to watch. At the same time sad to see some of the stuff like treatment of women and blacks. Every age has its pluses and minus. :-/
Anyhoo. 11.22.63. Nice show. And loved James Franco!
Maigret’s Dead Man
Came across this by mistake. Checked it out coz it’s got Rowan Atkinson in it. Enjoyed it. Didn’t realize it’s actually the second episode of a reboot show. Got to watch the other episodes now.
This show too is set in an older time. Was fun to see that. A very well taken movie/ episode over all.
Maigret: Night at the Crossroads
Managed to watch this later on. This is the first episode in the second season. The previous one I had seen was the second episode in the first season. I haven’t managed to get hold of the first episode of the first season; and I believe there’s one more episode in this second season.
Anyways. It was a good watch. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It also reminded me a lot of “Foyle’s War” – which is a show I had similarly enjoyed. Both shows have similar pacing and music. Slow procedural mysteries with a main detective and his subordinates.
Maigret sets a trap
Hurray, managed to watch this one too! I actually saw this and “Night at the Crossroads” after “Split” but thought I’d put them together with the first Maigret episode I watched.
Am surprised “Maigret sets a trap” was the first episode of the reboot. It’s very different from the rest. Maigret is under pressure, his superiors want him off the case coz they believe he is not delivering, Maigret is moody himself due to this and clutching at straws, even his subordinates are a bit unsure if Maigret can pull this one off. The case itself is a very odd one. No clues, no connections, and we the viewers are left in suspense till the end as to whether Maigret caught the wrong man. It’s all kind of flimsy after all. But no – Maigret did catch the right man, and it’s all explained very well actually. A different but very nice episode. Fitting, in a way, for me to have ended my binge watching with this one. This is the kind of episode I’d have put across as a season finale.
Looking forward to the next episode!
Split
Ok so this one wasn’t how I expected it to be. I was expecting some psychological thriller or more focus on the personalities themselves. Totally didn’t expect The Beast to actually appear in the end! It’s sort of like how I never expected aliens in Shyamalan’s “Signs” and boom! they make an appearance. Great performances by James McAvoy and a well taken movie over all.
Oh. And the “Unbreakable” reference in the end? Totally didn’t expect that. Ooooh. “Unbreakable” is one of my favorite Shyamalan movies (THE favorite movie I’d say).
I have to stop thinking of Shyamalan as a director with a twist in the end. It’s all coz of “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable” and “Signs”. Got to keep in mind that one can expect monster and aliens all that stuff. He is more into the horror thrill genre now.
Miss Sloane
I started watching this movie thinking it would be action thriller like the Bourne movies or something. ;-) After I realized it was about lobbying and senate hearings and bill passing etc I had a good mind to stop watching … but for the character of Miss Sloane! Boy she was something. What a character. An odd, cold, personality … it was something! A great movie. More than that, a great character. And a good insight into the kind of stuff that happens as part of lobbying (most of which made no sense to me and was of no interest).
That’s all for now!
Update:
The Dressmaker
Saw this the next day but thought I’d add it with the rest anyways. God, what a bore of a movie. The synopsis mentioned this being a revenge story or something, so I imagined something alone the lines of “The Count of Monte Cristo”. There’s some revenge alright – towards the end – but it’s a drag until then with some nice moments interpresed here and there. The movie’s nearly 2 hours long. Think I could have done something way useful with that time! Bleh.
Hugo Weaving’s character was quite good by the way. Very different to his other roles. The story is good; the movie is good too, am sure, for others – just wasn’t my cup of tea. This is a revenge story with a lot of drama. I want a revenge story with a lot more action and speed.
